Rational Fear
by loutzy
Summary: But Hermione wasn't listening. Her attention was pulled elsewhere when the boy who was being ushered towards the Hogwarts castle turned to look back at the girl with furrowed eyebrows. Hermione gave the same expression back as she watched the boy's retreating form walk to the castle, her eyes never leaving the blond boy's head. AU Ficlet. Dramione throughout the years at Hogwarts.
1. Eleven

_Disclaimer: The author of this piece of fiction does not, in any way, profit from the story. All creative rights of the characters belong to the original creator, J.K. Rowling/Robert Galbraith. Any image(s) used for the cover art belongs to their rightful creators. The plot and written works is copyright of writer Loutzy. All else belongs to their rightful owners. Any potential brand, name, or anything else belongs to their rightful owners._

A/N: Chapter 1/8. Marked as complete due to the fact that each chapter can be taken as a one shot, despite the fact that there will be growth between the couple.

* * *

Hermione watched her friends as they soared through the air on their broomsticks – an ability that even _she_ had grown weary of – and a prickle of envy stabbed softly at her chest. Though she had done all she could possibly do to prepare herself for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, even before she had stepped foot on Platform 9 3/4, nothing could prepare her for her _very_ rational fear of heights.

And Hermione knew it was rational. Though her new acquaintances Harry and Ron had seemed safe _enough_ flying about on those broomsticks, Hermione knew from multiple textbooks on Psychology and the human mind that her fear had stemmed from generations of caution caused by height-related deaths. It was simple, university level knowledge, really. Heights, snakes, spiders, and water… All seemingly irrational fears that had placed themselves in the survival of humanity. Without these deep rooted cautions against such animals or natural disasters, humanity could not have _possibly-_

Shouts sounded around her and from the corner of her eye, Hermione caught a glimpse of the very reason as to why she decided against the use of broomsticks. Her head snapped in the direction of the falling body to see a head of platinum blond hair struggling to climb back onto his broomstick. Jumping up on instinct, her body carried her down the stands quickly and out onto the field where many had already unmounted their broomsticks to crowd around the fallen boy.

As soon as she got close enough, she heard the voices of her two friends commenting quietly.

"Serves him right – showing off the way he was." Ron quipped to Harry who only pursed his lips and nodded his head. Weirdly enough, no professors were in sight.

"What are you all doing standing around?" Hermione shouted at the small crowd of people, especially regarding the older students who seemed dumb-struck by the incident. When no responses came, Hermione huffed out, "Well, somebody go call for some help!"

Her comment seemed to snap most students out of their dazes as they rushed around, looking for someone to help him. Hermione instantly went to the boy's side.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" She heard Ron's voice from behind her, irritating her on a miniscule level, "That's the boy that called you a mud-

"Ron." Harry cut him off, not wanting to hear a repeat of that derogatory term.

Hermione shook her head and gave a roll of her eyes, "Just because he was acting rudely to me doesn't mean he should suffer in pain." When she finally turned her attention to the boy, she saw him clutching at his wrist and glaring at her fiercely, "Now, where does it hurt?"

Whether or not his face scrunched up in pain or disgust, Hermione couldn't tell, "Why should I tell _you?_ "

Again, Hermione found herself rolling her eyes, "Because if you _don't_ you'll just have to sit here withering in pain until a teacher comes by to help, won't you?" The blond boy's glare hardened at her and a moment of silent disdain passed between the two until pain shot through his arm once again and he visibly tensed at the pressure.

Slowly, Malfoy held out his arm.

Taking the moment in stride, Hermione carefully held his hand and lifted up the sleeve of his robes to see his porcelain skin quickly bruising into shades of green, yellow, and purple. When her hand shifted to lightly hold the wrist and examine it further, the boy let out a wince of pain.

Her mind went into overdrive, thinking of all the little spells she had learned over the summer before Hogwarts and only coming to one conclusion. Her free hand went to her pocket to draw out her wand. Malfoy quickly snatched his arm away from her, eyes wide.

"What do you think you're doing?" He snapped at her wildly, glaring down at her wand.

"I _know_ what I'm doing." She said in a tone of finality and reached out to grab his wrist again. He winced once more and looked around to see if any professors were on their way yet. There were none, "Now, this may hurt a little." She explained softly, looking the boy in his grey eyes to get some sort of consent to what she was about to do. His lips tightened as he examined the bushy haired girl. Right now, it seemed as though he didn't have much more choice. He gave her a stiff nod before her attention went back to his wrist, "This _should_ do the trick-

" _Should?_ I thought you said-

 _"Ferula!"_ And with a tap of her wand, large bandages wrapped around his wrist causing a sharp pain to travel his arm for a moment. And just as he was about to hex her for whatever she could have possible just done to him, the sharp pain quickly subsided and the feeling of heaviness due to the collection of damaged blood cells under the bruising faded, as well. Though his arm didn't feel completely healed, it definitely felt much better.

And before Malfoy could question her knowledge or even huff out a small thank you, Madam Hooch came running onto the field with Oliver Wood trailing just behind her. When she got to Hermione and Malfoy, she quickly started throwing questions to which Malfoy answered honestly. By the time she asked him where it hurts, she almost seemed breathless as Malfoy lifted up his wrist to allow her to have a look at his injury. A look of query passed her features.

"But how is it that your wrist has already been tended to?" She asked, uncertain. A confident voice was heard from behind her.

"That was me, Madam Hooch." Hermione said, slipping her wand back into her robes. Hooch looked even more bewildered at that.

"But how did you…?" When Hermione realized she wasn't going to finish her question, she politely piped up.

"I read it," She explained, as though the answer was obvious, "in a book."

Hooch's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, her eyes darting between the now bandaged boy and the curly haired girl. Soon, she shrugged and got to her feet.

"Well, quick thinking is valued in every pleasure of life…" Hooch smiled at the girl as she helped Malfoy to his feet. She looked back at Hermione and finally let out, "Even Quidditch. Your name?"

"Hermione Jean Granger, miss." Hermione beamed, basking in the attention she was being given by a teacher she had never thought she would get to fully understand.

"Ten points to Gryffindor for _Hermione's_ fast thinking, and for her compassion towards other houses." In all the excitement of getting (what Hermione strongly believed to be) well deserved attention, she had almost forgotten about the blond boy. Her eyes snapped to his unreadable gaze and she nodded at him. He simply blinked back.

Madam Hooch walked him off the Quidditch pitch as Ron and Harry came up behind her, Harry patting her on the shoulder.

"He really didn't deserve what you did for him," Ron sniffed, clearly annoyed by Hermione's empathy towards everything, "You know that, right, Hermione?"

But Hermione wasn't listening. Her attention was pulled elsewhere when the boy who was being ushered towards the Hogwarts castle turned to look back at the girl with furrowed eyebrows. Hermione gave the same expression back as she watched the boy's retreating form walk to the castle, her eyes never leaving the blond boy's head.


	2. Twelve

"Detention, Mr. Weasley." Professor Snape's deep voice rung throughout the class. Ron scoffed in disbelief and turned to look up the teacher who seemed to have the sonic hearing of a bat.

"What for?" Ron spoke up, once again, making Hermione want to smack her head against the desk from the idiocy her friend was portraying. How can he be _that_ stupid to continue speaking against Snape? The professor shook his head as though his thoughts mirrored those of Hermione's.

"For foul language, and now, for speaking out of turn." Snape's voice reflected a sense of finality, tempting students to further question his judgement so they can, as well, waste their time grading the professor's work. Hermione could see another comment mustering from the look on Ron's face from her table beside her two best friends, and she quickly looked to Harry as if to say, _'do something!'_ Harry quickly understood, kicking his foot under the table in order to get Ron to pipe down.

Ron grunted and glared at Harry, but said nothing else. Snape turned his attention back to the class, giving them all a sneer, "Now, if anyone _else_ disagrees with my teaching plans…" he shot another glare at Ron, "they can, too, spend their free time in my office with Mr. Weasley."

Silence echoed the classroom as the twelve year olds collectively decided against getting on Professor Snape's bad side this early on in their career at Hogwarts. Dismissing the subject, Snape continued on what he had been previously explaining to the class.

"You will be partnered with someone from an opposing house to learn co-operation skills and unity." He nearly spat out the last word, a scowl still gracing his features, "You job is to brew an antidote to your assigned poison, a task that can only be made easy if your collaboration skills are _on point_. _"_

Snape continued to draw on, explaining the task further and starting to call out names to form pairings. Though Ron may have seemed eager to disagree with Snape's choice of assignment, Hermione really didn't care. Though being partnered with someone from the house of Slytherin may be a bumpy journey to Hermione's retrieval of a perfect score, she knew that there was only a one in three chance of such a thing like _that_ happening. If she were to get a Hufflepuff, she knew she could rely on their hard-work and dedication. If she got a Ravenclaw, this would only boost her chances of obtaining the highest mark in class.

Therefore, she really didn't see what Ron's problem was. She was nearly bursting in her seat from the chance to make new friends in an entirely separate house. Snape knew what he was doing, and Hermione had placed all of her trust in her professors since the first day she arrived on the Hogwarts Express and stepped onto-

"Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy." The dark haired professor's monotone voice cut into Hermione's thoughts.

Before Hermione could truly register the meaning of the two names spoken together, a chorus of _'ooh's_ was heard all around from her classmates and her head whipped around to the back of the class where _Malfoy_ was seated, his two minions at his sides. Crabbe and Goyle looked thoroughly pleased; smirks that Malfoy wore so well suddenly turning into ugly expressions when plastered on their faces.

Draco's glare pierced into her own and he got up from his chair in a huff, mumbling under his breath as he snatched his bag from his desk then redirected his glare to both Crabbe and Goyle. The smirks fell from their faces as the whole class watched Malfoy walk up to the front of the class, grab a piece of parchment that held their selected poison, and take the seat beside Hermione before slamming his book bag down next to his chair. Hermione rolled her eyes at his dramatic performance, turning to look at Harry who mouthed _'sorry.'_ Hermione shrugged her shoulders at that, then chanced a glance at Ron, who had an expression on that read, _'I told you so.'_

Hermione narrowed her eyes at that and looked at her blond haired partner who sat deep in his chair, a scowl on his face, and his arms folded across his chest. She sighed and reached for the parchment that he had placed on his desk, reading, _'Werewolf bite.'_

"It's not even a bloody poison, now, is it?" Hermione heard Malfoy grumble and she turned to look at Malfoy, who's grey eyes were now on her. Though she knew he was annoyed at the situation, she couldn't get over how little malice could be heard in his voice. She shrugged her shoulders and opened her mouth to explain to him.

"Well, no, but there is an antidote that could be found on page 242 of Magical Drafts and Potions," she explained matter-of-factly, reaching into her bag for her textbook. When she found it, she placed the book on her desk, "It's called-

"Antidote to Common Poisons." Malfoy sat up in his seat as her head snapped around to look at him, confused. He rolled his eyes at her bewildered expression, "You're not the only one who ever cracks open that book, Granger."

Silence fell between them as Hermione felt an awkward tension between her shoulder blades when she realized they had gotten this far in a conversation without any negative words thrown at one another.

"… Erm, right." She finally settled on saying before Snape called the attention back to the front of the class.

"You have approximately twenty minutes." The professor's eyes snapped from student to student, then turned in his place and glided towards the door on his right; his signal for the task to commence.

Hermione turned back to her partner and pursed her lips. Though Malfoy usually seemed to be a prick underneath her skin, always barking lewd remarks to her and her friends, today he seemed rather… _Compliant._ This almost worried Hermione. _Almost._

"I'll grab the ingredients and you start looking over the notes?" She asked instead of commanded, allowing him his options. His eyes narrowed at her question before he gave her a sharp nod. And off she went.

The task was simple enough. She had read over that page about three times previously and the ingredients were ingrained into her memory. One bezoar, two measures of standard ingredient, a pinch of unicorn horns, two-

Her thoughts were, once again, intruded by a large elbow knocking the jar of mistletoe berries out of her hand, only to have it shatter on the floor – her ingredient spilling everywhere.

"Looks like Granger's got slippery hands," Her eyes travelled to the perpetrator, only to see one of Malfoy's fat oafs he calls a side kick. Was it Crabbe… _Goyle?_ "Must be that foul blood of hers."

 _That doesn't even make any sense._

With a scowl, she pointed her wand to the shattered glass and muttered a first year mending spell. She bent down to pick up the berries and place them back into the jar, only a few of them crushed.

When she returned to the table, she saw that Malfoy had already gotten out all of the tools that were needed and his cauldron. He sat with the textbook in front of him, re-reading the steps once again. Though she thought being paired with a Slytherin might have been a difficult task, she had known previously that Draco was actually only second to her in the class. Professor Snape must have put thought into these pairs, forcing students of similar skill to work together.

"You know; you should really try to find new friends." Hermione offered matter-of-factly as she started to crush the bezoar. With unicorn horn in hand, Malfoy turned to Hermione with a questioning look on his face. Hermione nodded her head over to Crabbe, or Goyle, or whatever his name was, and when Malfoy understood who she was talking about, he let out a loud scoff.

" _Crabbe?_ " He shook his head, measuring out the ingredient he had in front of him, "That _ox_ is not my friend."

Hermione stopped what she was doing to furrow her eyebrows at the boy. The thought of Malfoy spending all of his time with people he didn't consider friends came as a shock to her.

"Then who is?"

Silence followed that question as Malfoy continued to measure ingredients, his jaw tightening harshly. She awaited a proper answer patiently, adding the crushed bezoar to Draco's pricey copper cauldron.

Time passed as they worked diligently and the silence started to become unbearable when Hermione realized their next step was to simply wait. Draco seemed to be avoiding her gaze and she worried her bottom lip at the boy.

When he finally turned to look at her she felt her insides twist at the endless possibilities of answers he could supply her with. What came out was simple enough, but seemed to only bring about more curiosity from the stumped girl.

"I don't-" He stumbled for words, glaring at something passed her head. He grunted, clearly annoyed by her question, "Certainly not them."

Suddenly, she felt as though a weight had been placed on her shoulders that wasn't there before. Though Draco had not shown her any form of kindness previously, she felt as though she had been caught reading his private journal entries.

 _Journal._ Hermione's thoughts quickly went to Harry's accusations against the boy attempting to open the chamber of secrets. She knew it was common for Harry to allow his enemy status to run wild in his mind about Draco, but she truly questioned his theory about him being the heir of Slytherin. Although Malfoy was ignorant, and his constant mocking was tiring, Hermione felt sorry for the boy who seemed to have never been offered friendship.

If Hermione remembered correctly, it was Harry who had turned down _his_ friendship.

Could it have all been different if he had accepted his attempt at friendship?

Hermione shook her thoughts away as Malfoy returned to the cauldron with the unicorn horns. She nearly jumped out of her chair and grabbed at his robe sleeve.

"It says to wait forty minutes-

"Only if it's in a Pewter Cauldron, Granger." Draco rolled his eyes at the girl, shoving the textbook to her. "I have a copper cauldron."

Her eyes shifted to the textbook only to find out that he was correct. _Damn_.

"Oh." She looked back at him, and as soon as she realized how close they were, she let go of his sleeve and jumped away. "Sorry."

She turned her attention back to the ingredients, attempting to keep her mind from wandering back to Malfoy and his lack of attitude at the moment. She had grabbed him through his clothes and he didn't turn to look at her in terror; he simply shrugged it off. Usually, he would have made a scene over something so trivial, calling her a mudblood and raising hell. But he almost had no reaction at all to how close they were in proximity.

How curious.

When the antidote had turned just the correct shade of teal, signifying its readiness, Malfoy grabbed a vial and scooped some up with a proud smirk on his face. Hermione mirrored his look, knowing that they were the first ones finished and, most likely, the victors.

"You did a good job." Hermione beamed, testing her limits with the blond boy. He raised an eyebrow at her, allowing her to continue, "You know, for a pompous lunatic."

Draco scoffed, shaking his head, "A lunatic? And what makes you say that?"

Hermione paused for a second, as if to look deep in thought. Draco bought her acting skills and leaned in closer as if he was hanging on her every word. A small smile spread across her lips.

"Well, for one thing, the fact that you're being nice to me is just a crazy notion in itself," Hermione started. The corner of his mouth twitched and he looked as though he was about to retort, but ultimately let her comment slide. With a smirk plastered on her face, Hermione continued, "And lastly, if you honestly still think that I'm inferior to you after knowing, for a fact, that our potion is going to be the best in the class, you've _got_ to be crazy."

His face contorted into a frown as he seemed to study the bushy haired girl whose comments were spoken so confidently. Hermione simply stared at him back, allowing him the moment to process what she had just said.

And just as he opened his mouth to speak, Snape's dreary voice filled the room. She hadn't even noticed his return.

"Return your labelled vials to the front of the class with your names on them." Draco looked at the teacher, then back at Hermione, gave her a look with pursed lips, then swaggered to the front of the class and placed the vial on the desk. Snape hastily dismissed the class, annoyed by the mostly improper arrangement of potion colours that lined his desk. When Malfoy returned, he seemed to have brought an air of awkwardness back with him.

It seemed as though their conversation, and the class, was over.

And yet… Hermione just couldn't find it in herself to stop talking to the grey-eyed boy.

"Well," She sighed, packing her books back into her bag, "If you don't end up finding your friends and are in need of an acquaintance to go over notes with, I know a very bright girl with impeccable handwriting."

And with that, she turned in her spot and left the boy to catch up with her two friends who were bound to have stories about their time in class. Draco simply watched her brunette curls bounce around as the girl hurried away, leaving him awestruck.

* * *

A/N: Just letting my readers know that, _yes,_ romance will be on its way eventually. I just need to set up some ground work before having these two jump right into it. It's throughout the years, so one year per chapter; meaning, I really don't think romance is that appropriate in the first few chapters, especially since Draco grew up with a certain belief and it may be hard for him to dislodge himself from that. Next chapter will be the aftermath of the beloved Dramione punch. And I'm keeping as the movie canon simply because I think Hermione punching Draco is just that much better.

But, don't worry, we learn something about their relationship and how it's been evolving next chapter! Hurrah for ficlets.

Love always, Elle - your author for this story.


	3. Thirteen

Malfoy gripped his nose, blood trickling down from where Granger's fist collided with his face. He could taste the dark liquid on his lips and growled at the bitterness of it all.

Though he didn't truly mean to piss her off that much, Malfoy was in a challenging position when he found himself surrounded by both Crabbe, Goyle, and Granger's posse. He had a choice to make and would suffer the consequences if he didn't act quickly enough. So, he made his choice and saved his own arse from the embarrassment of cowering away from Granger in the presence of the two babbling idiots.

And clearly, he had made the wrong choice.

Moments later, he saw Hermione's fist flying towards his face and could do absolutely nothing to stop it. Both Crabbe and Goyle suddenly understood her wrath and ran off, scared out of their wits. Not that they had any in the first place.

That left Malfoy standing there, gasping in the horror of the situation. Not only had he been beaten _by a girl_ , he had been beaten by Granger. In front of Potter and the deranged weasel.

He stomped away from them, angered that Granger could possibly do something like that to him in front of _them_ , after everything they had been through together. It's not like he could call them friends, but he certainly couldn't call them enemies. Ever since her offer from the previous year, he had taken time to find her in the library and silently study with her. They hardly talked, only answering each other's questions on the homework from time to time, but when they did talk, Draco felt an odd pressure lift off of his chest. During times spent with her, he never felt as though he was forced to do anything. He could simply _be._ And that's what made him stay.

And from the start of the new school year, he had refrained from teasing her in front of his housemates – or in front of anyone, for that matter. In turn, his housemates had begun to question him constantly, asking whether or not he was sick, or what he thought of Granger. Crabbe and Goyle were the worst of all. He simply couldn't take it anymore, so when he finally had an opportunity to show his strength against both Buckbeak _and_ Granger, he took the opportunity.

But there's never really been an opportunity missed by Granger, either. That is, she seemed happy enough to take the chance to punch Malfoy square in the nose. In front of everyone.

So much for showing his strength.

He stomped away, clutching both his nose and his pride, wondering which one felt more broken to him. He uttered a cleaning spell for the blood, annoyed by the reminding taste that it was, in fact, his pride that hurt more. Though he debated whether or not it was safe to fix his own nose instead of having to explain the situation to Madam Pomfrey, he found himself stomping down the hallway towards the school infirmary – for his nose's sake.

But before he could even make it down the hall, he saw the perpetrator of his attack standing in front of the infirmary doors, stomping her foot angrily and tucking a golden chain back into her robes. He stopped in his tracks as she turned to him and stomped over. He opened his mouth to halt her from doing whatever it was she thought she was doing.

"What the _hell-_

But he was cut off as she grabbed his sleeve and tugged him into an empty class room, not one ounce of softness in her actions. She could at least give him _that_ after the stunt she had just pulled.

As soon the door swung shut behind them and she had murmured a muffling spell on the room so no one could hear whatever argument was brewing, she turned to him with a furious glint in her eyes, "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Wrong with _me_?" He blubbered, trying to retrace what has just happened moments ago, "Wrong with me? I'm trying to remember when it was that _I_ punched _you_ in the face!"

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "You deserved it! You may not have _punched_ me but you might as well have!"

Malfoy's hands flew back up to his face, rubbing at his eyes angrily, "What the _hell_ are you going on about? I was perfectly _normal_!"

" _Normal_? You call that _normal_?" She yelled, growing increasingly irritated with Malfoy's attitude, "I'm sorry, but do you not remember this past year?"

"Well, you clearly didn't if you were suddenly so _able_ to sock me right in the nose!" He growled, hand going back to cover the broken-feeling protuberance.

"That's because you _weren't_ acting normal! You were acting…" She huffed, her fists clutching at her sides, "You were acting like your father!"

"Don't speak ill of my father," Malfoy snarled, eyes piercing through the girl in front of him, "I was acting like a _Slytherin_ because I _am one_ , if you forgot."

"No," Hermione started, shaking her head, "Don't blame this on your house, Malfoy. What you said back there wasn't a _Slytherin_ thing to do, it was a cowardly thing to do."

Something shifted in Malfoy's chest and he could feel the discomfort radiating off of him from that comment, "Same-difference."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed as she took in his expression, and he, unknowing of what to do while under her gaze, shoved his fists into his pant pockets. Hermione sighed, "No, Draco…" Oh, so _now_ we're back to Draco? "They're completely different."

Draco grunted and looked away, annoyed that he let her get to him while he should be angry at her actions. Sure, he was acting like an utter jack-arse, but his actions didn't deserve the bitter punishment of her fist, did it?

"Look, I'm sorry." She said, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes as she looked at the uncomfortable blond, "But you can't just choose when you want to be my friend or not. It doesn't work that way."

" _Friends_? I'd hardly call us-

"Draco." She snarled out his name and he snapped his mouth shut at her tone. He wasn't exactly making it easy for her to apologize, now, was he? And now that he knew what her anger felt like, he'd rather not rile her up again, thank you very much, "You're not going to play friendly with me only when its in your favour. If that's all that this is to you…" She stopped and a crease formed between her pretty brows as she worried her bottom lip. Draco felt his stomach clench and decided now was the best time to speak up.

"No, Granger," He stepped forward, taking his hands out of the pockets but not knowing exactly what to do with them, "It's not. I never meant to-

"But you did." She looked back to him, uncaring of how close they were in proximity. He saw insecurity written on her features and _fuck_ , he really did deserve that punch, didn't he?

"I'm sorry." He said, running a hand through his hair and looking away, "I know that must've hurt, but being _friendly_ with you has been pretty damn exhausting on my end." Her eyes snapped to his and suddenly, it looked as if _he_ had been the one doing the punching. " _No!_ No, not like that. It's just…" looking rather emotionally exhausted, the thirteen-year-old ran a hand through his fallen blond locks, searching for a way to express himself, "it's been a hard secret to keep."

Hermione nodded in understanding, not even attempting to ask why they should keep their friendship a secret; they've had that conversation far too many times and she knew when to not push the issue. It just simply had to be this way. Unless she wanted Draco to spend the next four years isolated by his fellow housemates – and that would be on the easy side of the scale – this friendship of theirs would have to be kept in secret. Even his summers would be in absolute shambles if word got around to his father. Suddenly, the world felt heavy around them.

She felt her eyes dampen and quickly swiped at them with the back of her robe sleeve. Hermione never really knew when it started to happen, but she felt herself growing increasingly emotional as time passed. _Hormones._

Draco quickly took another step forward, a look of worry on his face. "No, _Granger_. Please don't cr-

"I'm _not_ crying." Hermione huffed, looking away from him as a few tears continued to slip passed. She felt herself become even more annoyed with herself and bit down on her lip. _Please stop crying, please stop crying, please stop-_

She suddenly saw one of his hands reach forward and rest on her cheek, thumb brushing away any stray tears. Her body stiffened at the action, surprise filling her expression. Now, _this_ was not normal.

"Yes, of course, you're _not_ crying." He scoffed, and quickly pulled his hand away again. Hermione rolled her eyes and gave Draco a friendly shove, pushing his concerned action to the back of her thoughts, never to be looked at again.

In the vault. Yep, that one's going in the vault.

Draco looked at her and scrunched up his nose, about to let out a chuckle, but instead, a grunt of pain passed his lips. Oh _right_ , his nose.

"Stay still," She mumbled and got out her wand. He did as he was told and she quickly swayed her wand in her hand, " _Episkey_." Another groan of pain sounded from Malfoy as he clutched his nose, wiggling it around to ensure the healing spell did what it was supposed to, "Better?"

A smile crossed his features as he threw an arm around the girl's shoulders, heading them towards the classroom door, "Granger, I don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

A/N: In reply to a review: The ficlet is listed under complete due to the nature of it. It's simply one-shots compiled to make sense as a story. But seeing as they are relatively small chapters and don't need to be read together, nor are they _completely_ intended to be read as a whole story, I listed it under complete!

As always, please read and review! I also just posted a severely angsty Draco one-shot called _Reason_ ,so if you have a chance, check that out, as well!

Love always, Elle - your author for this story.


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